Palmer takes chequered flag in close run race
EARL Shilton racing driver Alan Palmer has scooped another win in the 2016 Smart 4 Two Cup.
Following his first win at Silverstone last month, in the race car he hires from Smarts 4 You Racing, Palmer was in action again for round two at the Rockingham Motor Speedway near Corby on the weekend of June 11 and 12.
Palmer qualified on the front row and immediately took the lead when the lights went out for race one. With the first five cars all very closely matched, Palmer had to defend hard to maintain his early lead. Pole-man Greg Owens was applying huge pressure but it was Martyn Clatworthy that came from third to take them both around the outside of the infamous turn one banking to take the lead.
With James Palmer and David Nash also in close pursuit the five-way battle continued. However, it was Palmer who made a mistake when he out-braked himself into the difficult turn two Deene hairpin, resulting in a bump with the tyre wall and lots of lost time.
Re-joining well off the back of the first four runners, Palmer finished in fifth - his lowest finish of the year to date.
With Palmer starting in fifth for race two the odds were against him to repeat his Silverstone win but a great start meant he was immediately up to second place by the time he reached turn three - Yentwood.
However, a missed gear on exit saw David Nash dodge to the inside to retake second behind early-leader Greg Owens.
Race one winner Martyn Clatworthy - who had slipped to fourth at the start - was unfortunate to be knocked off circuit by Nash’s sudden move, sending him into a high-speed spin, resulting in a puncture and ending his hopes for a second win.
Palmer set about chasing down Nash and on the next lap squeezed through a tiny gap, up the inside of Nash, under-braking into Yentwood.
For most of the remaining race Palmer tried desperately to haul in Owens but despite getting alongside twice in the braking zone for turn two it looked as though Owens would hold on to take his first win.
With time running out Palmer tried a late lunge inside Owens under-braking into Yentwood, repeating his earlier overtake of Nash, to take the lead which he held onto for the final two laps of the race.
Palmer was delighted with his second win and has extended his lead in the competitive one-make series. The next two races are at Snetterton in Norfolk on the weekend of July 16 and 17.